


Dedications

by npse



Category: MasterChef (TV) RPF
Genre: I'm so bad at writing fics, M/M, reposted from my tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-30
Updated: 2012-10-30
Packaged: 2017-11-17 09:10:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/549950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/npse/pseuds/npse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Andy publishes his first cook book and his busy schedule doesn't leave much time for other people in his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dedications

**Author's Note:**

> Reposted from my tumblr at justaficblog  
> Also, really bad.  
> Also, Dymocks is an Australian bookstore, just so you know.

Andy hadn’t seen Ben in a few weeks. They’d both been busy, Andy writing his cook book and Ben working on getting more places for their pop-up stall to go. The popularity of the pop-up stalls still amazed Andy and with each new location they saved more and more money to put into getting a real, permanent restaurant together. They were living their dreams. Sadly, they still hadn’t made their venture over to Mexico yet, but it was still on the cards. After all, how were they supposed to perfect Mexican food if they’d never visited the nation?

Thankfully, as their personal schedules started to pick up, their publicity ones died down. Neither of them were called to many interviews or tv shows anymore and it suited them just fine. Personally, Andy had had enough of camera crews for a while. He relished alone time now, loving that for the first time in what felt like years, he was really alone. No one watching him.

But now that his cook book was finished and all the necessary edits were made and sent to the printer, Andy knew his life would soon turn to chaos again. Not that he loathed the attention, because he didn’t. It came with the territory. To hate the fame would be to hate the show and that seemed so ungrateful. The show had given Andy so much, so much knowledge, so many friends, so much more life. He just couldn’t fathom the idea of having anything but love, respect and complete gratitude for the show that changed his life.

As it was, Andy was currently in a taxi on the way to the first store in Sydney that would sell his cook book. It was only a small affair, since the cook book was officially released a few days earlier, but Andy had to make an appearance. There were fans to hug, pictures to sign, photos to take and plenty of ‘thank you’s to give.

The cab pulled up outside the Dymocks, where Andy was more than surprised to see fans waiting outside. It’d been a couple of months since he’d won MasterChef and he still managed to have fans. It was bewildering. He thanked and paid the cab driver before climbing out. He was met almost instantly with cheers and applause from the waiting fans. He smiled – who wouldn’t when they were greeted with that kind of reception? – and waved. Andy made an effort to greet some of the fans before stepping inside the book store.

It was just as packed inside as it was outside. There were lines everywhere, people buying all kinds of different books, but most noticeable was his own. Andy couldn’t even begin to describe the swell of pride he felt as he watched people buy his book. It was just beyond belief.

It took only a few moments for the Manager to greet Andy and direct him to the table where he’d be signing books and meeting fans from. There were already cameras set up from Channel Ten, there to document Andy’s latest triumph.

Andy couldn’t believe how many people were coming to see him. They all had such kind words to say to him, he found himself grinning and even blushing more than he’d expected. He was glad to hear he’d affected so many people with both his story and his cooking. He made promises to keep an eye out for other budding chefs and people who were simply ‘dying’ for a tweet from him. Lots of smiles, lots of signatures and lots of photos.

He’d been too caught up in the process of dealing with the fans to notice how many hours had passed, until the manager approached him and suggested a break for lunch. He’d cut the line of fans waiting outside by half so he agreed. He didn’t want to keep people waiting for too long.

There was a collective groan as he left the store, but he gave his familiar, trademark cheeky grin and promised he’d return in less than an hour. “I’ve gotta eat at some point, right?”

Thankfully the manager of the store had a cab ready and waiting for him that whisked him off to whatever restaurant he was to be dining at that day. He was always eating somewhere new, most of the time he couldn’t remember where he’d been or what he’d eaten, so he rarely frequented the same restaurant twice. It was a bit of a shame, really.

During the car ride, Andy received a phone call from Ben.

“Hey Benny, what’s up?”

“Not much mate, just watching the news. I heard there’s some big time cook in Sydney today. Wonder who that could be?” Ben replied playfully.

“Dunno, but I heard he’s pretty good looking.”

Ben practically guffawed, “Aw, yeah, keep dreaming!”

Andy smiled, enjoying the witty banter as he picked at the cracked leather of the taxi’s backseat.

“You having fun?” Ben asked, a hint of sincerity in his voice.

“Yeah, it’s good fun. There’s a lot of fans. You get mentioned a fair bit – ‘where’s Ben?’, ‘what’s Ben doing now?’, ‘do you see Ben much these days?’… Don’t even get me started on the Bandy girls,” Andy laughed, remembering a particularly excitable fan who’d had a shirt made with their faces on it. Andy could hear Ben chuckling on the other end of the line. “I wish you were here too, Benny. It’d be easier with the two of us.”

“I know. I’m still in Tassie though, until Tuesday.”

Andy gave a sigh. It was unrealistic to expect that Ben would come to Sydney just to help him deal with publicity. It wasn’t that big a deal anyway. “Got a copy of the book yet?” He asked hopefully.

“Nah, not yet mate. I’m still stuck writing menus for the pop-up. Kylie and Beau are no help right now, they’re too busy exploring Tas.” Ben said with a laugh, and Andy laughed too.

So Ben hadn’t bought the book. It was disappointing, sure. He kinda hoped that Ben would be one of the first to buy the book, to send Andy a text saying ‘well done Rook,’ and to promote the book on twitter. He expected a few things and none of them had happened.

But Andy didn’t really have a right to be disappointed! Ben was busy working on their business! It wasn’t as though he was just sitting at home doing nothing – really, that’s what Andy was doing. Andy should be grateful to Ben. Andy gave a nod, “Right, of course.” He said, sounding slightly more angry than he was. He wasn’t angry at all, to be honest, just upset.

“I’ll pick it up as soon as I can, Brick. I’m sure it’s really good.” Andy could hear the sorrow in Ben’s voice.

“I know, I know. Look mate, I’ve gotta go to lunch. I’ll call you later, yeah?”

“Sure thing, Ando. Have fun!”

“I will, Ben.” He said and hung up.

Andy exhaled sharply, slipping his phone back into his pocket and letting his hand fall lazily onto the seat beside him. “Actually, can we just go to McDonalds or something please?” He said to the driver, “I just wanna eat and get back there as fast as I can.”

The driver nodded, making a less than legal U-turn and heading on a different route. Andy looked out the window, his head swimming.

Andy could feel his energy draining pretty quickly. He’d been back at Dymocks for about four hours and the fans just kept on coming to the point where Andy was seriously considering leaving. He didn’t want to let the fans down, but he just wasn’t feeling it anymore. He wasn’t really in the mood.

The manager of the store kept bringing him cups of coffee which Andy would drink half-heartedly and allow to go cold as he signed, smiled, laughed and posed for photos with the fans. Something that was meant to be fun had very quickly turned into something Andy wanted to desperately escape from.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out between signings to glance at the message.

_I’m sorry, Rook._

Andy bit the inside of his cheek and gave a tiny sigh as another fan stepped up and placed their book on the table in front of him.

“Who do I make this out to?” He asked without looking up, uncapping his pen and opening the front cover.

“Benny – I think.”

Andy froze. Was he delusional? He glanced up slightly, just enough to see Ben’s familiar and uniquely tattooed forearms resting on the table in front of him. Andy grinned, looking up at his best mate, who’s smile was just as big and goofy as Andy’s.

“Congrats, Rook.” Ben said as their eyes met. Andy couldn’t help but give a tiny chuckle.

He stood up, throwing his arms around Ben in an awkward over-the-table hug. He could hear the ‘aw’s from the fans and see the flashes from countless cameras, but he didn’t care. But wait –

“I thought you were in Tassie still?” Andy asked, breaking away from Ben.

Ben gave a sly smile, “I might have been just up the road when I called… Surprised?”

Andy nodded, “Yeah, mate!” Andy was, for once in his life, lost for words. He had no idea this was going to happen and had no idea what to do now that it had. “I – uh, I guess I’ll sign your book then?” Andy suggested, taking his seat again. Ben just laughed.

“Whatever you wanna do,”

Andy glanced down at the open book in front of him and flipped a few pages. Where he’d signed the front page for everyone else, Andy knew he had to sign somewhere different for Ben.

“I bet you just bought this, didn’t you?” He asked as he pressed pen to paper.

“I bought it the day it came out.” Ben admitted sheepishly, “Had to line up for a few hours, but.”

Andy could feel his cheeks colour slightly, “And I bet it’s just been sitting in your car ever since, am I right?” He glanced up at Ben.

Ben shook his head.

“You’ve actually read it?” Andy asked, surprised.

Ben laughed, “’Course mate! You really think I’d miss out on it?”

Andy shrugged, “I guess not… Like it?”

“Nah, it was horrible.” Ben replied, causing Andy to look up, genuinely concerned, only to see Ben’s cheeky grin again.

“You’re an idiot,” He chuckled, returning his attention to the book and finishing his signing. It was a little longer than what he’d written for all his other fans, but Ben was different to all the others.

“All done,” Andy said, snapping the book shut and pushing it across the table to Ben. “Gotta keep the line moving, y’know? I’ll catch up with you later Benno. Next!” Andy shot Ben a smile as he accepted another copy of his cook book from another fan.

Ben nodded slowly, picking up the book and stepping to the side. He hadn’t really been paying attention to what Andy was writing while he was at the table and now his curiosity was killing him.

He made his way over to a wall, where he could wait for Andy to finish. It was 4-30pm. Surely the signing would finish soon – Andy had been there all day! But Ben would be patient and wait, no matter how long it took. He wanted to celebrate with Andy. Thankfully there were a row of plastic chairs against the wall and a few of them were free. Ben snatched one up and took the opportunity to read what Andy had written.

Cracking open the book, Ben was a little shocked when there was nothing on the front page. He’d seen Andy writing, and yet there was nothing there. What? Ben’s brow furrowed as he flicked a few pages. And there it was, on the fourth or fifth page of the book. Andy’s messy scrawl covering the bottom half of the dedications page. Wait – dedications? Did cook books even get dedication pages? Ben’s eyes jumped to the dedication, wondering why Andy had chosen that particular page to sign on.

_To my mum and dad – without your support, I couldn’t have done this. To Benno – without you, I wouldn’t have succeeded. Thanks for everything._

Ben coughed lightly, trying to hide the fact that his eyes had pricked with tears from the few sentences. His eyes dropped instinctively down to Andy’s signing.

**Ben,**

**That bit up there doesn’t even do it justice. You’ve helped me in ways you don’t even know. Your undying support meant and still means everything. I can’t wait to get our restaurant together and spend the rest of our careers making complete fools of ourselves on a nation-wide scale. You’re my hero, Benny. When I grow up, I wanna be just like you – better looking, but.**

**All jokes aside, thanks for it all. You’re the best. You’re my everything.**

**Love, Rook.**

**(Yes, I did write love, so don’t show anyone)**

Andy had never been so nervous waiting for someone’s reaction to something – not even in MasterChef.

Ben was lost for words. He had to read it through three or four times just to be sure that it was actually there and actually said what he thought it did. His eyes were swimming in tears that were yet to escape but he just couldn’t bring himself to stop scanning that one line – ‘love, rook’.

He glanced up and saw Andy was looking at him, a tiny but knowing grin on his face. Ben gave a small laugh, shaking his head. He couldn’t believe it. Andy noticed the shiny gleam to Ben’s eyes and found himself torn between wanting to hug him or tease him for being such a girl.

‘Really?’ Ben mouthed.

Andy shrugged playfully before returning his attention to the fan in front of him. A few moments later, his phone buzzed on the table beside him. Andy grabbed it immediately, opening the message and reading it in an instant.

_Love you too, Rook._

Andy glanced up at Ben and shook his head, unable to fight the satisfied smirk on his face.

“Go to him,” The fan in front of him said quietly, giving him an encouraging smile. Andy glanced back at her and grinned even wider.

“Thanks.”

Pushing back from the table, Andy weaved through the thinning crowd over to where Ben was sitting. Ben rose from his chair once he saw Andy making a bee-line for him and the two met in the middle of the store, standing closer to each other than was normal.

“You sure?” Ben asked in a hushed tone. “Because there’s no going back after this-“ Ben continued but was cut off by Andy’s lips on his own. There was a cry of excitement and shock from the crowd which almost instantly erupted in applause.

The kiss was light and sweet, intensified only when Ben pushed against Andy. He’d wanted it for so long and now he had it. Andy was the first to break the kiss, stepping back a little with an embarrassed look on his face. His cheeks were a light pink. The room fell into silence.

“What made you write that?” Ben asked, genuinely interested.

Andy shrugged, “I guess I figured you needed to know how dedicated I was to you.”

Ben’s serious expression broke into a smile, “That was a horrible pun.”

“No pun intended,” Andy replied with a laugh.

Ben stepped closer to Andy, licking his lips lightly before leaning in to kiss him again.

“I love you,” he whispered against Andy’s lips, sending shivers down Andy’s spine.

“I love you, too.”


End file.
